It’s a hobby, but working with wood is something Harold Mitchell hopes might someday become something more.
And after witnessing his creations, some folks might say that’s a sure thing.
As a youngster growing up in Simmons, Mitchell enjoyed hanging out next door with his grandfather Harold Matthis, an avid woodworker who made picture frames, plaques and other items. As he grew older, Mitchell also grew to be a big fan of a technique known as “segmented turning,” in which segments of wood are attached to form rings that are then stacked, joined and turned on a lathe, ultimately becoming intricate artistic pieces like bowls, vases and “boxes” (in woodworking terms, a “box” is basically any hollow object with a lid).
With no formal training, he honed his self-taught talents and ultimately started a business called “Out on a Limb Wood Working” about two years ago. These days, when he’s not fulfilling his duties as a full-time state employee with the Office of Administration Facilities Management, Design and Construction, Mitchell spends much of his free time inside his workshop adjacent to his house west of Houston tinkering with his trusty Jet Equipment and Tools mid-size lathe and various cuts of pretty much any type of wood he can get his hands on.
He particularly likes repurposing vintage wood from barns, homes or other sources, and gets some of his inventory from choice pieces of downed trees he and his father, Loyd Mitchell, cut up at the sawmill at their hunting cabin south of Mountain Grove. He also enjoys float trips on Ozarks rivers, and usually can’t help but bring home a few sticks of beaver-chewed driftwood for drawer handles or other furniture add-ons.
And if it looks right for a bowl or box, Mitchell will even pull a log out of his firewood pile.
“I’ll use about any piece of wood – I’m always looking,” he said. “In fact, I’m going this afternoon to a garage that’s probably 100 years old to save the wood that’s there. I hate to see wood go to waste – especially good wood.
“I throw hardly any wood away.”
Also a skilled maker of rustic wooden furniture, Mitchell likes making simpler things, too, like wooden bracelets, honey dippers and utensils. He has even made urns that have been purchased by local funeral homes.
Mitchell said walnut and cedar are his favorite woods to work with, and when he begins a project, the blueprint is all in his head.
“Cedar is very eye-catching,” he said. “But I’ll use about anything that looks interesting. And I never draw anything out; I just do it.”
One of Mitchell’s favorite styles to emulate is Native American pottery.
“But since I don’t have a pattern, I don’t think I’ll ever do two pieces that are alike,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll be working and an idea will pop into my head and I’ll be thinking about it all day. Then when I get home, I’ll go right to figuring out how I’m going to design it.”
Segmented turning has a sizable following, and Mitchell said many woodworkers across the U.S. use the method to create pieces he views with admiration.
“It’s an art form,” he said. “There are quite a few people who do it, some with very fancy and intricate designs. I try to keep it kind of simple.”
To make his rings, Mitchell cuts segments on a table saw with help from a jig he designed himself.
“The bigger the wedge, the bigger the piece you can make,” he said.
Once a project has been shaped on the lathe, Mitchell finishes its outer surface until it’s as smooth as could be. From cutting segments to the final finish work, he said making a large piece takes him about 20 hours.
“It’s really not that long,” he said. “I can do smaller pieces in maybe five hours – two evenings.”
Mitchell, whose wife Carla is a teacher at Houston Middle School, said that once a year for the past six years he has donated a piece to Texas County Memorial Hospital’s Hospice of Care, and gave a cedar chest this year. So far, he has sold his work mainly by setting up booths at various festivals, but is working on getting a website set up.
Desiring to do more of what he loves to do most, Mitchell intends to make turning wood on his lathe and building wooden furniture his primary focus in the future.
“I want to buy a bigger lathe, but they cost as much as a small car,” he said. “Maybe someday soon.”
To contact Harold Mitchell, call 417-926-8333.
Out on a Limb Wood Working can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OutOnALimbWoodworking.
To see more photos of Harold Mitchell and work and some examples of his art and rustic furniture, click this link:
http://houston.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=53932483&event=1873777&CategoryID=57447
I’ll use about any piece of wood – I’m always looking.”